Your Source NM Week in Review

By Joshua Bowling | Senior Reporter

Happy weekend, folks! We made it through a busy week. The head of the Environmental Protection Agency traveled to Santa Fe this week, where he announced plans to further roll back Biden-era climate protections, and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham inked a deal with a Japanese company that she hopes will help New Mexico lead the nation in quantum computing. Below, you’ll find our top stories from the week and, as always, you’ll find many more at sourcenm.com. We’ll see you again on Monday.

EPA head announces oil and gas emission rules rollbacks during visit to Santa Fe

The head of the Environmental Protection Agency announced plans Wednesday for further cancellations of Biden-era oil and gas regulations aimed at reducing emissions of climate-warming gasses while on a visit to New Mexico. Environmental groups protested the proposals and urged New Mexico to codify the regulations in state law.

State engineer denounces ‘outrageous’ federal waiver of New Mexico water laws to build border wall

The chief lawyer for New Mexico’s Office of the State Engineer told legislators this week that the state is pushing back against the Trump administration’s announcement of a “waiver” of all the state’s laws and regulations regarding the use of groundwater to aid construction of a border wall.

New Mexico cybersecurity leader calls for quantum safeguards while state inks deal with major player

New Mexico cybersecurity officials told state lawmakers Thursday to prioritize updating digital security systems across state agencies before other countries develop a high-tech quantum computer. The admonition came the same day Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced a partnership with Japan-based tech company Fujitsu to establish a quantum computing research center in New Mexico.

2 New Mexico GOP lawmakers continued paying canvasser accused of harassing Democrat, documents show

Two Republican state lawmakers seeking reelection continued to employ a New Mexico campaign canvasser accused of harassing their Democratic colleague even after another GOP candidate fired the man over his behavior, campaign finance records show.

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